But she is also the younger of two princesses, the one who has never done anything remarkable. She can’t see how she ever will.

Now, on her sixteenth birthday, she has become the secret wife of a handsome and worldly king—a king whose country is in turmoil. A king who needs the chosen one, not a failure of a princess.

And he’s not the only one who seeks her. Savage enemies seething with dark magic are hunting her. A daring, determined revolutionary thinks she could be his people’s savior. And he looks at her in a way that no man has ever looked at her before. Soon it is not just her life, but her very heart that is at stake.

Elisa could be everything to those who need her most. If the prophecy is fulfilled. If she finds the power deep within herself. If she doesn’t die young.

Most of the chosen do.

★★★☆☆

I picked up The Girl of Fire and Thorns on a whim. I was bored last night and needed something to coax me to sleep [not in a bad way!] I found myself quickly invested in the story and then a bit disappointed as my strategy worked – I had to go to sleep. Prior to falling asleep, I put a large dent in it, I’d reached the halfway mark.

I wasn’t expecting such a faithful tale surrounding this novel, but that was a pleasant surprise. So, be forewarned if Christianity/Faith is a trigger for you, avert thy eyes. I would, however, place this novel in a CHRISTIAN genre. 16-year-old Princess Lucero-Elisa has been chosen by God to bear the Godstone, a literal stone that on her naming day was inlaid in her navel. She, like the stone bearers before her, has to fulfill her destiny and what that is like those before her, is unknown. There are vast many secrets and truth withheld from Elisa.

Amidst a world filled with war, Elisa must marry a King she doesn’t know as part of a treaty. From the wedding day on there is much action to be had. King Alejandra de Vega is handsome and kind, then we learn he is a touch… cowardly in his policies and private life.

There were certain attributes to this novel that irritated me, I’m all for diverse female leads, but whether it is a female or male I would rather not be reminded of their perfections or imperfections. We are not to forget Elisa’s ravenous appetite or the fact she is pudgy and unbecoming, but she IS witty. I know the point behind it was to not have a sleek, beautiful and typical heroine, but I feel it went over the top.

Once a kidnapping occurs is where the book lost its oomph for me, the pace grew slow, the story wasn’t as interesting, I felt the characters grew rather stale, BUT Elisa did grow during this time. By the time the story wraps up I don’t think I was entirely pleased with the ending, it kind of seemed slapped together and because the story wasn’t *there* for me at the end I felt like I just began to put the writing under a microscope.

Was it worth 3 stars? Yeah, I definitely liked it, but I didn’t love it.